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On the basis of the results of the Passengers Survey, arrivals of tourists reached 169.934 in March 201,9 compared to 192.090 in March 2018, recording a decrease of 11,5%.

For the period of January – March 2019 arrivals of tourists totaled 357.475 compared to 369.438 in the corresponding period of 2018, recording a decrease of 3.2% (Table 1).

Analysis of changes

Tourist arrivals from the United Kingdom decreased by 6.9% in March 2019 compared to March 2018 while a decrease of 8.5% was recorded for tourists from Greece and 36.6% decrease from Germany. Contrary to that, an increase of 10.1% in tourist arrivals from Russia was recorded. Percentage changes from one year to the next for the main countries of usual residence of tourists are presented in Table 1.

Main countries

The United Kingdom constitutes the main source of tourism for Cyprus for March 2019, with a proportion of 37.3% while arrivals from Russia comprise 14.7% of total arrivals, from Greece 8.2% and from Germany 7.0% (Table 2).

Purpose of visit

For a percentage of 70.1% of tourists, the purpose of their trip in March 2019 was holidays, for 16.9% visit to friends and relatives and for 13.0% business (Table 3).

Table1

Country of usual residence

March

January -March

Tourist arrivals

% change 2019/18

Tourist arrivals

% change 2019/18

2017

2018

2019

2017

2018

2019

TOTAL

140.873

192.090

169.934

-11,5

285.693

369.438

357.475

-3,2

Austria

2.493

2.679

1.529

-42,9

3.492

3.769

3.595

-4,6

Belgium

1.764

1.718

1.129

-34,3

3.293

2.960

2.139

-27,7

France

1.873

2.157

1.884

-12,7

4.793

4.448

3.783

-15,0

Germany

9.090

18.843

11.954

-36,6

14.411

27.089

20.451

-24,5

Denmark

226

1.269

1.031

-18,8

716

1.645

1.806

9,8

Switzerland (incl. Lichten.)

1.643

2.552

2.158

-15,4

2.533

4.237

3.993

-5,8

Greece

13.492

15.212

13.914

-8,5

32.780

38.701

37.165

-4,0

United Kingdom

54.571

68.121

63.409

-6,9

99.503

123.726

123.902

0,1

Israel

9.983

15.333

9.192

-40,1

20.819

32.735

25.812

-21,1

Lebanon

1.711

2.375

1.705

-28,2

4.013

5.891

4.707

-20,1

Norway

1.210

1.831

1.509

-17,6

2.362

3.303

3.401

3,0

Netherlands

1.121

1.333

1.330

-0,2

1.906

2.585

2.632

1,8

Ukraine

1.724

2.351

3.378

43,7

4.021

5.494

8.103

47,5

Poland

2.002

3.305

1.846

-44,1

4.179

7.539

6.794

-9,9

Russia

19.910

22.635

24.920

10,1

48.028

45.449

42.054

-7,5

Sweden

1.469

3.895

2.197

-43,6

2.330

5.427

4.421

-18,5

Finland

149

409

231

-43,5

388

671

728

8,5

Other

16.442

26.072

26.618

2,1

36.126

53.769

61.989

15,3

Table 2

Country of usual residence of tourists

Percentage (%)

Mar.18

Jan – Mar. 18

Mar.19

Jan. – Mar. 19

United Kingdom

35,5

33,5

37,3

34,7

35,5

Russia

11,8

12,3

14,7

11,8

11,8

Greece

7,9

10,5

8,2

10,4

7,9

Germany

9,8

7,3

7,0

5,7

9,8

Israel

8,0

8,9

5,4

7,2

8,0

Ukraine

1,2

1,5

2,0

2,3

1,2

Sweden

2,0

1,5

1,3

1,2

2,0

Other countries

23,8

24,6

24,1

26,7

Table 3

Purpose of visit

Percentage (%)

Mar. 17

Mar. 18

Mar. 19

Holidays

68,3

73,6

70,1

Visiting friends & relatives

15,5

13,2

16,9

Business

16,1

13,1

13,0

METHODOLOGICAL NOTES

Definitions

Tourists: Visitors who stay for at least one night in Cyprus.

Tourist arrivals: The term refers to the number of trips and not to the number of persons. This differs in the sense that one person can take more than one trips during the reference period.

Source of data and coverage

The data are obtained from the Passengers Survey which is conducted in the arrivals and departures halls in the airports of Larnaka and Pafos, as well as from administrative sources such as the monthly arrivals at ports.

The survey covers all persons who pass through passport control at the ports and airports in the Government controlled area of Cyprus. It does not include travelers who arrive and depart illegally via ports and airports in the occupied part of Cyprus.

The weighting of data is conducted based on the data sent to the Statistical Service by the Civil Aviation Department and from the ship manifests, as well as data sent by the Analysis and Statistics Office of the Cyprus Police.